In the ever-changing world of Internet marketing there is one thing that has proven constant; good content is what drives people. According to an article published at Hubspot, a business that incorporates blogging into its online marketing strategy will see a 126% higher lead growth than businesses that don’t blog. People are looking for products and services online but they don’t want to be led to them by commercials. The most effective connection factor between what your business is offering and what people are looking for is good, relevant, content.
Not all blog posts, however, are created equal. There are some best practices to keep in mind as you blog that will distinguish your content from the rest and net you the best return for your investment. One best practice to keep in mind when blogging, is to focus on what customers desire to know. The key is timely, relevant content. Any blog post that focuses more on what you are trying to sell rather than on what your customers want to know is nothing more than an ad. This will not drive the kind of leads that will make blogging worth your investment of time and money.
A second best practice to keep in mind while blogging for business is to target your customers. Some business bloggers make the mistake of writing broadly to attract as many customers as possible. Research shows that doing the exact opposite is the most effective way to generate successful leads. Using targeted content and keywords will attract the attention of the types of customers who are looking for you and who are motivated to buy your products or services
A third best practice for generating sales leads through business blogging is to blog more frequently. The more you are able to post relevant customer-focused content on your business blog, the higher your amount of potential customer leads. According to the Hubspot State of Inbound Marketing Report, a business that blogs multiple times a day has a 42% higher rate of customer acquisition than one that blogs only once a week. Frequency does matter and the likelihood of overwhelming potential customers with too much content is not very high.
So have you considered how to incorporate good blogging into your online marketing strategy? If not, let these tips help you consider how to use good content to drive effective leads. For a more thorough study, take a look at this video tutorial produced by the folks at Inbound Marketing:
How to Blog Effectively for Business (GF101)
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